The British government’s Department for International Development (DFID) has partnered with the private sector to launch ‘Project iMlango’ initiative aimed at delivering e-learning programmes to thousands of marginalized girls in Kenya.
The integrated programme is viewed as likely to improve learning outcomes for some 25,600 marginalized girls, across more than 190 Kenyan primary schools. It is a first of its kind e-learning partnership led by global satellite operator Avanti Communications and its other partners sQuid, Whizz Education, and Camara Education.
Lynne Featherstone, International Development Minister at DFID, said: “Education is vital for helping improve the life chances of millions of marginalized girls and protecting them from harmful practices like child and forced marriage. Through this private sector partnership we are able to deliver innovative and cutting edge solutions that mean marginalized girls in Kenya get the education they deserve.”
Project iMlango is set to uniquely address the cross-cultural and economic issues that could contribute to reduced school attendance and drop outs, with electronic attendance monitoring and conditional payments to families.
At the programme’s core sits an internet learning platform, accessed via high-speed satellite broadband connectivity, where partners provide students with interactive, individualised learning tools. Project iMlangodelivers:
• High-speed satellite broadband connectivity to schools;
• Personalised maths tuition with a virtual online tutor, alongside digital learning content for maths, literacy and life skills;
• Tuition and support to teachers to use ICT in their teaching;
• Electronic attendance monitoring with conditional payments – to incentivise families to send their daughters to school – for use with local merchants;
• In-field capacity in IT, technology and support resources;
• Real-time project monitoring and measurement;
The programme can measure and benchmark Project iMlango’s impact in real-time. Data includes daily attendance statistics at the whole school level for over 100,000 children as well as measurement of access to the learning platform and monitoring each student’s individual progress over time.